This time, they didn't swim to the Tulip Palace. Instead, they floated upward.
Once they were out of the water, Angor took out his Gondola.
Once everyone was on board, Angor activated the engine and rode the wind away, stirring up a huge wave.
This was Shan's first time on Gondola. Although she was amazed by the appearance of Gondola, she was not in the mood to pay attention to other things because of the giant sword named "Countdown" hanging above her head. She kept rubbing her palms with a helpless look on her face.
Gondola was fast, at least dozens of times faster than swimming on their own. However, it was still slower than Angor when he ejected his soul from his body. Keely thought Angor was going to use his soul to carry them, but she didn't expect him to use Gondola.
"Do we … have enough time?" Keely paused when she said the word 'time'. Originally, she wanted to say 'there's definitely not enough time', but when she saw Shan's anxious expression, she didn't want to provoke her with words, so she changed her words.
Shan also looked at Angor and hesitated. "Can we really make it in time?"
"Don't worry. We'll find a way." Angor gestured for them to calm down. He wasn't sure himself. There was a teleportation array under Tulip Palace, but it would only teleport them to the other seven palaces. The seven palaces were located far away from each other, and no one knew which one was closer to the final destination.
Using the map he saw in Tulip Palace, he estimated the distance and direction of each of the seven palaces from the scale to the marked points.
Then, based on the angle of the Meraid's Swords, their speed, and their approximate distance, he estimated the distance between them and the altar.
In the end, he came up with a rough estimate: 32,000 kilometers.
With that in mind, he decided to use the teleportation map again.
Since there were still some variables, Angor came up with two conclusions: Summer Palace and Crystal Palace.
He wasn't sure which one they would be teleported to yet. If they were going to travel in a straight line, the Crystal Palace would be the best place to go.
To reach the Crystal Palace, they only needed to walk back several hundred kilometers to reach the final destination.
To reach Summer Palace, they would need to travel another 1,500 kilometers.
However, the above premise was the distance in a straight line. If variables were taken into account, then it would be unknown.
"Flying fish!" Shan suddenly pointed at the sky and exclaimed.
He glanced at the sky and saw nearly a thousand flying fishes that looked like frozen clouds. They charged toward Gondola with a frosty aura around their bodies.
Keely stopped him. "Leave it to me. You keep steering."
Keely had been in a bad mood ever since she boarded the airship. Perhaps it was because she failed to kill Jebra, and the countdown timer was ticking.
Angor gave her a meaningful look. "Alright."
Keely took out her lantern. When the flying fish came, endless dark purple flames floated out and surrounded the flying fish.
The cold aura in the flames made everyone's heart palpitate.
When Gondola rushed out of the school of flying fish, a series of explosions sounded from behind. He looked back and saw all the flying fish exploding into minced meat and falling into the sea.
Keely had used such a violent method on a group of seemingly weak flying fishes. It was obvious that she was venting her emotions.
In less than 20 minutes, they arrived at the airspace above Tulip Palace.
"Can you still sense Nausica's location, Shiliew?" Angor asked Shiliew.
Shiliew closed her eyes. "I can feel it. She's down there."
Angor sighed in relief. As long as Nausica was here, everything was fine.
Angor put away Gondola and signaled everyone to dive. Shan and Keely were still doubting whether they could reach the Altar of Demise in three hours, but they had no choice but to trust Angor and follow his orders.
Soon, they arrived at an area covered with aquatic plants. They could already see Tulip Palace.
Before they reached the entrance, Angor already saw several energy attacks aimed at the entrance.
"Someone's fighting?" Angor frowned and rushed toward the entrance.
When they arrived at the airspace above, they saw Nausica fighting against a Duon and two Duons. She was injured, but she seemed to be fine. She could also use the spiral runes on her arms to deal damage to her foes.
As for the Duon and the two Dugongs, they were both at the peak of Level-2 Apprentice. Nausica was only a level-1 apprentice, yet she was able to fight so well. She was born with a keen eye for battle.
Even Angor almost lost to a Duon the first time he encountered one.
"Nausica!" Shan yelled in surprise.
Nausica looked up and was surprised to see everyone. While he was distracted, the Guis almost seized the opportunity. Fortunately, Keely reacted quickly. She threw out a stream of Nether Fire and froze the Guis into a block of ice.
The other two Duons were killed by Shiliew's Water Arrow.
"Thank you." Nausica thanked Keely as soon as they landed. She knew the others, but she never saw Keely before.
Keely nodded and did not say anything.
"I didn't think I'd see you here, Angor." Nausica smiled.
"Angor came looking for you," Shan added. "He even went to save Shiliew to find you. I didn't know you two were so close."
Nausica smiled at Angor and was about to say "thank you" when Angor interrupted her. "Don't mention it. You don't need to be so formal with me. We'll talk when we reach the Altar of Demise. Come with me. "
Angor did not have time to waste on small talk. He asked everyone to follow him into Tulip Palace.
Angor remembered that there was a secret chamber at the center of the palace. He walked toward it and noticed that he could not sense any energy ripples below without using his astral projection. This meant that the chamber was well-hidden.
Angor asked Shan to follow him and asked her to help Gank dig a tunnel that led to the chamber.
"There's a secret chamber down there with a teleportation array," Angor explained.
"… I don't know which one is closer. Summer Palace or Crystal Palace? I need some time to decide." Angor told them everything he knew. "What do you suggest?"
"There's a teleportation array here?!" Shan's despondent look immediately brightened up when she heard about the teleportation array. If there was a teleportation array, they might be able to make it before the time limit.
Keely's expression softened a little. She began to consider Angor's question carefully. "We can't tell if there's a variable or not. I suggest we ignore the variables and fly to the Crystal Palace. In terms of distance, the Crystal Palace is closer. "
"I'm leaning toward Crystal Palace as well." Angor considered.
There was a variable, but he could only hope that it was not too big and would not affect the overall situation.
Shan and Shiliew also agreed to go to Crystal Palace. Nausica did not say anything and left the choice to Angor.
At this moment, Keely suddenly thought of something. "I only froze the Duon outside, but I can feel that it's not dead yet. I can try to interrogate it to find out which one is closer."
Angor clapped his hands. "That's a good idea. I can use an illusion to help you. I'm sure it won't lie!"
Among all the branches of illusions, Mind Illusions were the most suitable for interrogation because it manipulated one's inner thoughts, emotions, and desires. Angor only learned one cantrip from Mind Illusions, "Fear". However, he still knew some basic knowledge about illusions.
Besides, Fear Illusions could also be used to interrogate people, as long as he was careful enough.
…
After a while, Keely, who had received the accurate information, killed the Gui.
"Summer Palace. Crystal Palace is about three thousand kilometers away from the Altar of Demise. Summer Palace is the closest one. It's only a thousand kilometers away," Keely said.
"That's quite a big variable." Angor sighed in relief. Luckily, Keely only froze the Duon, which was still alive. Otherwise, they would not be able to reach the Crystal Palace in time.
Angor did some quick calculations. They should be able to reach the Crystal Palace by riding Gondola before the countdown ended. However, they still had to consider the possibility of encountering powerful monsters and robbers. It was hard to say whether the monsters would show up, but there was a high chance that the robbers would show up at the end of the journey. After all, many people who failed to get Meraid's Swords would try their best to reach the entrance.
Angor told everyone his plan so that they would be on high alert.
They were among the strongest apprentices in the Sea of Purification, but they did not know if the other apprentices had other trump cards or items. They could not afford to be careless.
Gank finally opened the door to the secret chamber.
They stepped onto the teleportation array, and Angor made his choice — Summer Palace.
Their vision blurred for a second, and they found themselves in a chamber that looked exactly the same as the one they came from.
However, this chamber was still completely sealed.
They dug a hole from the inside and came out of the chamber. They were now standing outside the pure white palace. Angor looked up and saw the words "Summer Palace" written in Duon language right above the palace.
Angor also noticed that the Meraid's Sword was now pointing south instead of southeast.
"We're almost there. Let's go."
Angor asked everyone to float up and ride Gondola toward the Altar of Demise.
With Gondola's speed, it would only take them about an hour to cover the distance. It had only been 30 minutes since the countdown began, which meant they could definitely reach the Altar of Demise by flying on Gondola.
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